Welcome To Oblivion
by Gittarackur
Summary: [Pre-Hunter Exam] - ILLUMI x OC - This covers the story of a solitary lady who wishes to unveil the truth and decipher the real reason behind her parents' gruesome death. Years have passed after the incident, now she has one suspect in mind: Zoldyck, Illumi. What will happen as she tries to dig deep into Illumi's past?
1. Introduction

**FOREWORD**

* * *

So... This is my second fanfic.  
If ever you have read my first one, this one will be very different from it.

Although this will be told in the perspective of my OC,  
This is technically an attempt to fill out some of Illumi's past when he was at a younger age.  
This story happened before he joined the 287th Hunter Exam.

_Romance?_

There will be some but...  
It will not be the main focus of the story and their affairs may progress slow.  
It's because I do not want Illumi to act out of character too much.

I hope you'll enjoy reading the first few chapters!

That's all I can say for now!

Ciao~

* * *

**WARNING!**

**THIS FANFIC MAY CONTAIN: **_EXPLICIT BLOOD AND GORE + INTENSE VIOLENCE [?]_

* * *

_..._

_Why would I fear death if I can avoid it?_

_What do I want to decipher?_

_The reason for my existence? That, I do not know yet._

_But, I tell you, I am certain of one thing..._

_This is how I choose to live my life now:_

_"KILL OR BE KILLED."_

_..._

* * *

**DISCLAIMER:**

_I do not own any character from Hunter x Hunter._


	2. Prologue

**PROLOGUE**

* * *

The bright moonlight shone to bequeath glory with respect to the night, making the cold, freezing night a gloomier scenario. Not a single star can be seen from the obscure horizon, only the wail of the evening breeze and the rustling movements of leaves can be heard from a distance.

"I-I can't see anything. What's happening?!" A small, stammering voice of a young girl echoed in the damp atmosphere. Her words were enough to prove that fear was raging inside her. "Is a-anyone in here?" Escaping an unconscious state, she slowly lifted her head from floor.

Everything was pitch-black. Darkness consumed the whole lot. Only the heavenly body above in the night sky gave illumination but it wasn't enough to make everything visible to mere human eyes. Minutes passed, there was still no response, no sign of another person awake or aware of the situation.

"Where is e-everybody?" She continued searching for answers in abstruseness, reaching out her moist, little hands to recognize the things in front of her. The wooden floor creaked as her light footsteps touched the ice-cold ground.

"There's nothing left to do here. It's been taken care of," a mysterious voice sliced through the eerie ambiance.

An alarmed and terrified tone of voice followed along, "W-Who's there?!" The young girl tried to search for answers, accumulating enough strength to overcome the fear that was consuming her vitality. Her whole body was trembling in horror as she tried to pursue the source of the unknown voice. Her senses lead her in front of a slightly opened door. She can fairly recognize precise movements at the opposite side.

Gathering all of her remaining confidence, she pushed the door without any hesitations and spoke, "Show yourself! Who are you?!"

A young man about the same age as her was there. He was sitting on his heels while on the window's panel. It was somehow an attempt to escape from the young girl's line of vision but much to her surprise, the boy slowly looked back in a mechanical-like motion. Wide-open and emotionless eyes stared at her, just the mere sight of him made her heart pounce faster than what she could even imagine. She caught a glimpse of the boy's hand; blood was dripping from his fingertips. There, she felt something was wrong…

_He's not an ordinary boy._

The young man in front of him simply procured a fighting stance in response while he menacingly spat out the word without a second thought, "Die."

He slightly elevated his left shoulder, withdrawing his arm as he curved his elbow to a slender angle in such position as that of a sharp blade being withdrawn from its scabbard. His fingers were straightforwardly pointing towards his target's forehead. Without even speaking, he was somehow suggesting, "You can't run from me. I'm going to shred you into pieces before you do."

Repugnant aura embraced and filled up every corners of the entire room which made the girl perspire continuously, not knowing what to do. Her sensations were similar to that of feeling the razor edge of the Grim Reaper's scythe right on her neck at the very moment.

Without a word, he propelled his hands in the direction of the girl's awestricken face. Slicing the wind as he hurled his first and final attack, he was now going to reward the petrified maiden with his death blow.

"DIE!" He spoke again, but now his eyes widened even more like black holes as if he was getting superfluous pleasure form what he was doing.

Out of nervousness, the girl collapsed to her buttocks, her damp hands touched the wooden floor as her eyes swelled up with small amount of tears. Her body was suffering from momentary shaking caused by the offensive and unreasonable assault.

"I-I'm still alive…" The girl uttered in such a weak and weary voice, not being able to believe. If she didn't have that fall, she might have had a head with fresh human flesh peeping out. Just inches above her head was the firm hands of the young man which sunk deep into the sturdy wall. His hands seemed to be tougher than iron for it was the wall that shattered like fragile glass. Judging from their current position, everything seemed hopeless now…

_I-I'm cornered…_

The boy was now right in front of her. Monotonous sounds came out from the boy's lips, "I missed." He slowly focused his head downwards to take a glance at his victim which was followed by firm and dignified words as he gave the girl an evil glare, "That won't happen again." His statement sounded too reassuring this time.

She knew now that she was going to suffer more than just a quick death. Her grim reaper just came into reality. The merciless boy picked her up from her neck like a weightless piece of paper.

_What's with this strength he possesses?! Impossible…_

Just when he was about to land another deadly strike at her face, a robotic beeping melody peered in the air and interrupted the tension. He quickly loosened his choking grasp on the girl's neck, letting her fall on the floor all by herself while he reached for the noisy mobile device on his pocket.

"What is it?" asked the boy who was obviously talking to the person on the other line. "But...!" he reasoned out in disapproval, his face contorted into an unfriendly nature as he heard the words from whom he's talking to. "Understood," agreed the young man without any further arguments. He pressed a button on his phone, clenched it in his fist with excessive willpower to break it into pieces.

Before turning his back, a cold, spine-chilling stare landed on the girl. The glass was smashed to smithereens, scattering hundreds of shimmering fragments on the surface as the young boy forced his way out of the bolted window, unharmed. A gust of wind entered the candid room, sending the curtains flapping out of control. Right after a few seconds, the enigmatic boy was now gone from her sight.

The midnight breeze blew so hard, it was powerful enough to tear one of the delicate curtains apart. The sound of the ripping fabric slashed the innocence of the night, revealing the reality at hand as the moonlight entered the room.

The next thing she saw made her stomach sank.

On the farthest corner of the room, which was deprived from light earlier, she saw a bloodied corpse. It was amputated in an inhumanly gruesome manner.

The first one she saw was a man. He was there, lifelessly resting his back on the wall of the room. Anguish and fear were the emotions that can be drawn out from how his face formed before his heartbeat lay flat. His mouth was endlessly spurting thick blood, bathing him red all over. Even his throat was cut open. One of his arms was still intact but a single movement may severe it from the body, the other had its bone crushed to every single bit, making it appear like a soft, soggy bag of flesh.

"N-no…" The girl's eyes spun around in terror until she saw another.

Next to the man was a lady, her cream colored dress was tainted velvet red by her own gore. Her face bore the expression of a widely ripped mouth which was almost the same as the man beside her and some of her teeth were missing from their place. Her hands actually held some of her teeth; it seems she was forced to pull them out on her own to satisfy the twisted tortures of the murderer. She was gurgling blood all over down to her chin, until her very last breath. Her eyes were bulging out in a horrifying state, as if she was killed right before she could scream and ask for help. Her forehead showed marks of abusive and merciless beating for her cranial innards were already greeting "hello" as they slowly gushed out of her broken skull.

She tried to stand up and pull herself away from the bloody scenery. The sickened girl pinched herself, thinking that she was just dreaming. Her hands, which were resting on the floor, felt a smooth, thick liquid touch her skin. Little by little, she raised her quivering hands; the moonlight revealed that it was indeed fresh blood on her palms.

_Everything was real._

Her scream was succumbed out by the sound of thunder, making it inaudible. Glittering raindrops soon followed after the loud roar from the sky while her voice shuddered as the words came out of her dry lips, "M-My parents… T-They're both dead."


	3. Reminisce

**PHASE 1: Reminisce**

* * *

_Years passed after that incident…_

_I haven't forgotten anything. Not a single bit._

The sun was shining brightly atop the vast blue sky. It delivered its vivid rays to brighten up everything under it. Countless people chattered ceaselessly while walking back and forth from the airport. Everything seemed to be normal. Indeed, today was a very pleasant morning. Contrary to that, a deep, disappointed sigh hovered over the main entrance of the airport.

"Errr… I hate this. I really do," she said at the end of her sigh, walking by the entrance as one of the airport staff enthusiastically opened it for her. She dragged her luggage along with her as she took a couple of steps forward.

"Good morning, ma'am!" greeted the staff who was struck with amazement by the girl's appearance. Her height can be estimated for more than 167 centimeters tall. She was wearing a black, skin-tight leather corset which evidently showed her beautiful curves and her ebony pants fitted her very well. Her outfit was matched by laced boots adorned with detailed Victorian patterns which lengthened below her knees. Contrary to her jet black outfit, her long, silver hair flowed straightly down until her slim waist.

She then made her way inside the door, bowing her head slightly to thank the staff. The airport was naturally filled with people but it seems that the number of passengers kept on increasing every month, the aerodrome was more crowded than usual. She pushed her way through the horde of people in order to get to the counter.

"Hey lady," a heavy hand landed on her shoulder. "Didn't your mother teach you how to fall in line?" The man gave him an agitated look; sure he was frustrated by the woman's mistake.

"My, my… I didn't notice there was a line because it was too crowded. I thought you were just gathered up here. I'm sorry," she scratched her head in embarrassment. Her apologies looked sincere but deep inside her head, she was cursing the man.

_How dare you say that to me?! I'd love to choke you until you puke your innards out!_

She stomped her way at the back of the line, holding her temper and trying not to start a commotion. Standing in the long line wasn't really a problem for her but her mood was slowly getting worn out because of that man.

_I just hate dealing with this type of people._

After waiting for half an hour… Finally her turn came in, "How may I help you ma'am?" A nice-looking lady asked her. She looked at her and stretched her lips in a thin smile before she spoke.

"One ticket to York Shin City please," she happily replied at the employee. She reached for her wallet, took out an exact amount of money for the ticket she purchased and in return, the lady handed over a small piece of glossy paper to her.

_Destination: Ringon Airport, York Shin City  
Departure Time: 11:00 AM  
Estimated Time of Arrival 1:30 PM_

She read the contents of her ticket; it was exactly what she wanted. Hurriedly, the silver-haired maiden rushed to take a seat for she spotted a vacant chair just a few meters away. Being comfortably seated, she placed her things right beside her as she leisurely crossed her long legs. Looking around the airport made her bored, until she caught sight of the time: 9:13 AM – the huge clock east of her displayed proudly.

"Oh crap. I arrived too early," she said in disappointment. "I guess taking a nap would be best for now. After all, I haven't had any good sleep lately," she told herself. "Besides, there are still a couple of hours to wait before the blimp departs."

Her delicate hands went inside her pants' pocket, taking out a plain white handkerchief. She used it not to wipe her hands or anything else but instead, she used it to cover her face. "Of course, I don't want anyone to see my face while I'm sleeping," she thought, placing the white cloth on her face as she slouched on her seat. She slowly closed her eyes until she saw nothing but darkness.

After a few minutes, she then fell into a deep slumber.

* * *

_"Die."_

One word, three letters. Simple yet dominant. It was the word she couldn't forget even though she wished to. Images of the boy's face kept popping in her head every time she rests her eyes.

_For the past few years I spent my life to train myself in order to compensate with that person's strength. I don't care if brutal skills aren't meant to be acquired by a woman like me, I need them._

_I'm going to make him suffer like how he made me and my family experience. Both physically and emotionally. I'm going to return the favor to him ten times worse._

_Whoever that person is, I'm going to hunt him down._

_And if ever I die, I'll bring him to hell with me._

* * *

Consumed in her horrible dreams and thoughts, she was still silently sleeping despite her worst memories came back. It seemed that her mind was already used to it.

The clock's minute hand kept on moving without getting tired. Time was ticking endlessly, not waiting for her to wake up at the right moment before her flight. At present, the airport's clock displayed the current time, 10:56 AM. Four minutes before her scheduled flight.

_"Attention! Flight destination: Ringon Airport, York Shin City. We request all the remaining passengers to proceed to Departure Lounge C immediately. The airship will depart in a few minutes. Attention! Flight destination: Ringon Airport, York Shin City. We request all the remaining passengers to proceed to Departure Lounge C immediately. The airship will depart in a few minutes."_

The sudden notice traveled through the speed of sound.

"Hmmm… What?" she half-consciously uttered. "Ah, am I dreaming again? Oh shit. My flight!" Now realizing that she slept longer than what she intended to, she hastily stood up and swiftly gathered all of her things as she run to the direction of the departure lounge. People looked at her as she forced her way through, bumping the shoulders of several people who were blocking her path.

_I'm sorry for not having the time to say sorry. I'm in a hurry._

Departure Lounge C – the huge sign drifted on the top of a clear glass door. "Finally! I made it in time," she mentioned while trying to catch her breath, panting in exhaustion.

"Flight to Ringon Airport, York Shin City?" a beautiful hostess asked.

Wiping off the sweat on her forehead, she responded, "Yes!"

"This way please," the nice young lady guided her to the airship. The moment they boarded the blimp, she noticed that all of the seats were already taken except for one. Meaning, she was the only one late for the flight. Indignant eyes stayed pierced at her as she leisurely walked her way to the empty seat. She released a rigorous sigh after positioning herself on the chair.

She then said to herself, "I'm starting to like this but I don't even know why I'm going to York Shin City. My intuition just tells me that there's something in store for me there." She timidly chuckled all by herself, making the person beside her think she's somewhat crazy.

After a few minutes, the airship took off in the vast blue skies.


	4. Business Beckons

**PHASE 2: Business Beckons**

* * *

The interior of the aircraft was that of middle class people. The area reserved for the passengers weren't that big at all but sure, it was comfortable. She looked around; everyone seemed to be bored while waiting for their arrival. Moments later, a flight stewardess approached the passengers while pushing a handcart full of edible goods. One by one, she asked every seated commuter if they'd like to purchase something.

The silver-haired maiden checked her wallet, opened it and stared at emptiness. She doesn't have any money left with her.

_Oh, crap. I'm broke. I need to get a job soon._

The flight attendant soon moved towards her. "Would you like to buy anything? It's good to fill up your appetite once in a while," she said, pompously showing the merchandise items for sale.

"Ah, nevermind. I'm not yet hungry," replied the girl with silver hair. "By the way, I wish to use your washroom. Will you mind giving me some directions?"

"If you say so. Anyway, to get to the washroom, you just have to walk past the last seat here, and then turn left. You should see a hallway forking in two separate directions. At that time, turn right. Keep walking straight and you should see a stairscase and next to that is the ladies' restroom," she gestured her hands corresponding to each of her guidelines.

"Thank you," she smiled at the stewardess as she stood up to visit the washroom. Once she reached the end of the seats, she turned left, right then straightforward. A set of stairs now was in front of her and alas, beside it was the ladies washroom. It was inevitably quiet there. She rotated the silver doorknob and gave it a slight push which produced a soft, creaking sound as she entered the room.

"What are you doing?! You're going to kill all of us! Are you out of your mind?!"

Without even getting the chance to use it, she immediately but quietly went out of the washroom, alarmed by the set of words she heard. She looked at all directions, trying to find the source of the distressing statement. "It's from up here," she looked at the staircase, thinking whether she should go and take a look if everything was fine.

"Hey! Stop it! Are you cra–," the voice continued in an upset tone but before finishing the sentence, it went to a halt. The next thing she heard was multiple rumblings, as if something heavy fell on the floor above.

_STRICTLY: No trespassing. Authorized personnel only._

The sign pinned near the stairs displayed those words in big, bold and red letters. Despite that, she advanced her left foot on the first stair, continued with another step with her right foot as if she hadn't noticed the huge sign on the wall. She continued progressing upwards until she reached the next floor. Another sign appeared right before her eyes, "Flight deck. This way," she read it in her head whilst looking at the arrow pointing to the east.

"Woah! This aircaft is huge! I wonder why they limited the space for the passengers?" she mumbled to herself. "Anyway, nevermind."

She kept on walking without making any fuss, her beautiful hair slightly swung every time she took another step. She stopped when the path turned into a sharp curve leading to the east. She took a deep breath before she peeked into the corner. There was a slightly huge space in front of her and in the midst of the empty gap; a room with a bulky iron door was slightly ajar, enabling her to see glimpses of what was happening inside the flight deck.

A hollow scream escaped from the room, "H-help me!"

"No one will hear you from here. I'll crash this airship and make it explode in the air, just like fireworks. I don't care if ALL of the passengers die. Hahaha!" From the tiny gap, she saw the man unsheathe a dagger, aiming it at his defenseless prey, "You poor bastard, no one will sa–"

The iron door creaked as a massive amount of air hurled into its direction, bursting it open.

"Say that again, will you?" In the blink of an eye, the silver-haired maiden appeared in front of him. She was holding his right wrist with robust force, slowly breaking some of his bones. The dagger fell on the ground as the man groaned in pain. Both the man and his victim were in shock.

"Finally, someone to play with. All I get to fight these days are all small fries." The girl looked around the room, it was a mess. Blood was randomly scattered on the flight deck. It seems the source of it was the pilot of the aircraft who lay dead on the floor. He had a severe stab on his temple and judging from his condition, he was already dead.

"Who the hell are you?" He was startled. "Wait… You're the woman who doesn't know how to fall in line. What a pi–" he stopped before he could finish, another scream replaced his words as the girl tightened the grip on his wrist.

"Let's just say I'm a concerned passenger who doesn't want any troubles or delays with my flight. Why are you doing this?" she asked.

"It's none of your business!"

"What did you do with this aircraft?" Another question came in.

Despite the ruthless pain he's experiencing, he gave an evil smile, "Nothing."

"Oh, nothing?" The girl released a sarcastic intonation. She looked around for the second time, checking the place if there was really nothing wrong. A red beeping light in the control panels caught her attention, digits similar to those of a digital clock showed up in intervals. But unlike regular clocks, the digits kept on reducing. _10:57… 10:56… 10:55… 10:54… 10:53… 10:52… 10:51… _"What's this?!" she asked the man again, pointing it at the timer she saw.

"Ah. That's just for display," he said, grinning.

"Stop fooling around with me! Answer my questions or else–"

The man challenged him, "Or else what?!" He compressed his uninjured hand, swinging it towards her face but unfortunately, the girl just dodged it without getting any scratch.

_What's with this woman?! _

Seeing the dagger which fell on the ground earlier, she picked it up. She tossed it in the air a few inches, caught it with her hands and landed an attack on man's arm; the girl sliced his flesh vertically until the sharp blade reached his shoulder. The sound of splitting meat reached the eardrums of the man, making him nervous. He turned petrified as he saw his own skin being torn apart like a feeble piece of tissue paper.

"I'll ask again, what did you do and what is _that_ thing?"

He couldn't scream for his voice started to stutter. He tried to say something but he only gave an incomplete answer, "I… I… I-I…" His lips froze as he saw his own blood flow.

"I'm getting impatient." The girl carelessly pulled out the dagger from the man's shoulder then tossed it in the air. With such force, the blade stuck straight into the iron wall. "I don't need that anymore," she said, making the man more jumpy. She raised her right hand to launch another attack; penetrating the man's open wound with her bare hands while insisting, "Answer!" Blood came spurting out like confetti.

"WHAT IS THAT THING?! EXPLAIN EVERYTHING TO ME." Her voice grew louder while she rotated her hand inside the man's flesh.

"I-It's a device u-used to hack… the system of this b-blimp. W-When the timer… reaches z-zero, this aircraft… will t-turn from auto-pilot mode to manual," he paused once in a while to grasp for air. "Considering t-that the pilot… is dead… We're all going to–"

What he heard next made him gulp in uneasiness, "I don't like that answer. I want you to do something about it. Or else…" Stopping for a while, she removed her bloody hand from his open wound. "You already know what will happen. Don't try doing anything stupid," she said in conclusion. She then freed the man from her deadly grip; he hurriedly tried to fix the problem he caused. Despite the pain, he engaged his injured hands to repair the system. A couple of minutes already passed but to no avail, everything he did seemed worthless.

Finally, the injured man said anxiously, "I-I can't fix it…"

"Then you are of no use anymore!" He felt a light strike on his nape, a little later, his vision blurred. The next thing he saw was darkness and then he fell on the floor with a thud.

Looking behind, the silver-haired maiden saw the man's victim on his knees, still conscious. He was watching in shock all along while he froze like a statue, not being able to move from his position. Judging from his appearance, he looked wealthy for he was wearing a luxurious tuxedo. "Sir, are you all right?"

"Ah, yes. I'm fine." He answered as he tried to regain a hold of himself in formalities.

"Sorry to ask you a favor but… Do you know how to fly this thing?" Her tone of voice was pleasant, contrary of how she behaved earlier.

"I'm sorry, I cannot but I do know of someone who does." At the back of the wealthy-looking man, there was another iron door. He opened the door and there another man sat on the floor, tucking his knees as he recoiled to hide. He was wearing an aviator's uniform similar to the dead pilot. But his current behavior was that of a person belonging to a mental hospital for he was severely traumatized. "He's the aircraft's co-pilot," the wealthy-looking man introduced.

"Hey! Stand up, the lives of innocent people will depend on you now," she said to the cowering man with a hysterical face. She tried to convince him to take charge over flying the blimp but he only gave an impression that he heard nothing at all.

_1:09… 1:08… 1:07… 1:06… 1:05… _

The co-pilot only gave him a disturbed look for seconds. Realizing that plain speech won't encourage him, she approached the man and gave him a crisp slap on the face.

"Where's your dignity as a pilot?!" she shouted. "When that timer reaches zero, you should be able to fly this thing manually, can you do that?" She was somehow proposing, "You have no other choice but to say yes!"

With that, he came back to reality. First, the co-pilot's eyes wavered in hesitation but realizing the burden of his sworn responsibility, he finally agreed. "O-Ok, I will. Leave it to me," he decided. He sat on the deck's chair, taking charge of flying the aircraft.

"That's more like it. Thank you," the lady smiled at him. "I trust you with that. Anyway, I'm going back to my seat downstairs. The stewardess there might be wondering why I haven't returned yet."

The wealthy man spoke, "Let me thank you for saving me. As gratitude, I'll cover up this entire mess for you. Rest assured that no one will know about this incident." After hearing those words, she turned her back to leave the flight deck while using a white handkerchief to get rid of the blood in her hands.

"Ah, please wait. One more thing…" he interrupted her footsteps. "I would like to hire you as one of my bodyguards, will that be fine? I'll compensate you with the sufficient amount of money you'll require," he said while shoving off the dirt in his expensive coat.

_This job offer just came right in time!_

"Well… That's great," she said.

The man offered his hands to her as a sign of their business agreement, "I'm Light Nostrade, and I'm looking forward to make use of your outstanding skills."

She firmly shook hands with his new employer and guaranteed him, "My name is Amaranth. Consider everything done under my service."

"Great. Meet me at the entrance of Ringon airport when the aircraft arrives," Nostrade settled. "We will discuss further negotiations later."

"Roger," she replied whilst leaving the flight deck.


	5. Illumi's Mission

**PHASE 3: Illumi's Mission**

* * *

_The day before Amaranth's flight to York Shin City, in another part of the world..._

"So this is the Republic of Padokia?" a man uttered in a sarcastic tone.

A rich environment made alive by countless vendors of various food, beverages, equipment and souvenirs on each and every corner welcomed the tourists of the Republic of Padokia. Indistinct chatter can be heard from numerous people exploring the place. Even children of different ages can be seen, freely running and playing around the busy streets. More than that, the balminess of the sunshine endowed its inhabitants the warmth they needed. With such features, it appeared to be a normal place.

Two bounty hunters stood near the vendors' stands, looking around and observing the area. One of them was about six feet tall and his head was perfectly shaved. His muscles were well built; somehow it was a sign of how determined he is in acquiring physical strength. The hands he possesses will give any person the impression that he could smash anything he holds if he wished to.

Contrary to that, his companion stood less than six feet, he had a slim body and pale skin coated him all over. Blonde wavy hair lay down until his shoulders and his eyes were sure to catch women's attention for he was a beautiful man. His fingers were slender and looked delicate. Possessing such characteristics, he looked more like an aristocrat rather than a blacklist hunter.

After a short period of observing, they headed to an inn nearby to settle down.

* * *

"Hahaha. This place seems to be a little _pretty_ for infamous assassins to live in," added the tall man while laughing. "It's really well-populated. I wasn't really expecting something like this. I expected to come across a deserted island or something worse." He reached for a glass of beer on their table while speaking. "Look, they even have this inn here. Providing us the services and the high spirits we need, such as alcohol," he said while raising his glass.

The beautiful man shared his sentiments, "Hahaha. I'm starting to think that those assassins are only myths. Maybe they're just plain stupid people trying to get attention by making up stories of their so-called notoriousness."

"Yeah, right." his partner nodded in agreement. "Besides, who would be idiotic enough to make their lair a tourist attraction?! How pathetic!"

He gave his colleague a light tap on the shoulder, "Don't you like that? That way, we'll be having no difficulties finding them!" He took a sip from his mug after bragging. "They have totally huge bounties on their heads. Imagine if they were just puny people, we'll get the chance to catch all of them; dead or alive, we will get the money we want by means of relying on our strength and experience as certified _hunters_," he raised the intonation of his last word to put on emphasis.

"Well… That is if they do exist," the bare-headed man burst into laughter as he mentioned, so did the other.

Both of them spoke boisterously while seated, making the other people relaxing at the inn look at them all along whilst listening to their conversation. Some customers focused their eyes on them, muttering faint words to each other in repulsion to what they heard. Despite the uncanny atmosphere, the two continued their talk as if no one was around them.

"To be specific, the locals say they inhabit within the depths of Kukuroo Mountain, right? It wouldn't take us so long before we arrive there. So…" He paused for a while to gather up his words, "When do we start the infiltration?"

"After we take the last trip to the mountain, we will wait there and begin when twilight strikes," he said as planned. "But for now, let's just enjoy more of these beverages." He called one of the waitresses to order another mug of alcohol.

* * *

"This is the last trip to Kukuroo Mountain. Please hurry up, we're leaving," a female voice dispersed in the air. She was encouraging the remaining tourists to board the bus immediately and last to take the ride were the two self-proclaimed hunters. They sat at the back of the bus for it was the only vacant seats left. While on the way, the mountain can be already seen from afar. Dark, grey clouds hovered on top of it. A little later, they arrived at their destination. A huge, mighty gate welcomed all of them, it was engraved with detailed patterns and the gate didn't lose its extravagance despite being worn out by time and weather.

The female tourist guide explained everything she could; pointing out that no one had succeeded in returning alive from the killers' fortress. Afterwards, she started calling out everyone to board the bus once again. One by one, the passengers went inside, except for two.

"We'll be staying," the blonde man said confidently. "You can leave now if you please."

"Oh, if you say so…" the lady was surprised but she soon agreed. "We're leaving you at your own risk."

The bus' engine roared, disappearing in the horizon as it journeyed to the long and winding way back. The light in the sky began to vanish as darkness replaced everything above. One by one the stars started appearing in the night sky like little street lights being turned on. The evening wind blew tougher and gave a cold environment.

"It's about time," one of them said. Once again, they faced the sturdy gate of the Zoldyck's residence, formulating ideas on how to enter the infamous assassins' lair. The muscular man approached the gate and tried pushing it with all his might but as he wasn't expecting, he failed at it.

"I don't think we can open that with mere strength. There must be some _other way_," said his companion. They examined the area further, a gatehouse was located nearby and a plump man with age came out, approaching them.

"Is there any problem sir?" the man, who seems to be the guard, asked calmly after he released a sigh.

"You must be the concierge of the filthy Zoldyck family. Tell us how to get in and we'll spare your life," the tall intruder grabbed him by his collar and raised him a few inches above ground. "Speak now!"

He replied wearily, "I-I'm sorry but my master will get angry if I do so." Contrary to what he was saying, he thought of something else at the back of his head. _Looks like Mike will have another meal tonight._

Suddenly, a silhouette of a tall, slender man appeared in the midst of the foggy shadows. "No need to bother giving them to Mike," said the unfamiliar voice.

"Who's there?!" the two interlopers wondered in curiosity while letting go of the old man.

The unidentified fellow walked forward unhurriedly. His physical features started to get clear every time he took a step closer. "I don't have to answer the likes of you," he said before he advanced another pace.

An idea entered the aristocratic man's thoughts. "Ah wait, I know who you are," hearing this made the mysterious guy raise an eyebrow in surprise. "You're a Zoldyck wannabe! Making that horrific entrance just to scare the shit out of us and pretending to be cool, eh?" After mentioning the insult, both he and his companion cackled in hilariousness while the lone guy just stood there, staring and not showing any sign of annoyance over the offensive words he received. His cryptic eyes kept pointed at the two guys.

"Are you gay?! Stop looking at us like that!" demanded the bulky man. "What the hell do you want from us?!"

"Your life," he simply replied without twitching.

"What?! Are you serious?" he continued while laughing. "That's impossi–"

His words hung up, not obtaining the chance to fulfill his insults. He saw several pins slice through thin air and unfortunately, they were all aimed right in his face. Before he could dodge, he felt those things hurled at him penetrate his thick flesh. He was caught up in shock; his mouth dangled open for everything happened too fast, his horrified face was retained right after he got the massive barrage of powerful needles without even getting the chance to screech in pain. What an ugly way to die. Then, he lifelessly fell on the dirty ground.

The other man stared at his fallen comrade in disbelief. All of his strength and confidence were suddenly drained in a blink of an eye for he realized the difference in the level of their abilities. Cold sweat streamed from his forehead down to his chin despite the chill bestowed by the night.

The mysterious man raised his right hand in front of his face, another set of needles were in between his fingers. "You're next," he said while referring to the last intruder remaining.

"Shit," the blonde man cursed. In fact, it was the only word he could think of that came out from his lips. He froze in his position like a statue on display as his enemy approached him.

_What the hell is happening here?! I can't move! This guy is… too formidable. I wasn't expecting this! Maybe he's really one of–_

His thoughts were interrupted as he saw numerous pins fly in his direction, he tried to evade them which he half-successfully did, and only a couple of needles entered and pierced the skin above his collarbone. Yet, it was too agonizingly painful, more than enough to distract his concentration. His enemy went missing from his vision as he tried to remove the needles one by one.

A sudden gust of wind passed near him, he then detected a presence in his rear but before he could even react, a heavy karate chop landed at the back of his skull. The force from the attack he received was far too powerful enough to send one of his eyes bursting out of its socket. His beautiful eye tumbled on dry earth; it bounced a couple of times and rolled as it gathered up dust before it stopped.

"Too easy," said the mysterious man as the corpse of his victim landed on his feet.

"Master Illumi, sorry for the trouble," Zebro, the gatekeeper, said as he bowed down before the Zoldyck's eldest child. He received no answer coming from him; only a cold stare was given in response.

The first born of the Zoldyck approached the gate of his own residence. Laying his fingers on it, he gave it a push. Little by little, each of the gate's panels produced a creaking sound as it slowly opened and revealed the luscious green forest inside. Without even using half of his strength, the enormous, rigid door opened up to three levels. He advanced into the opening he made. The gate's panels closed right away with a deafening sound after he passed through.

His eyes wandered in the scenery of his own home and it seemed that he was somehow disappointed in coming back. Nevertheless, he continued his way. He traveled in such speed that cannot be compensated by mere human agility. Despite the hundreds of trees which stood by his path, he moved with ease as if no obstacles were blocking his tracks.

* * *

A woman standing more than five feet tall was strolling towards the main residence of the killer family's lair. She wore an extravagant yellow bustle adorned with white ruffles on certain areas. Her headdress matched the color of her feudalistic dress which was decorated with purple feathers and fur. An electronic visor which corresponds to her emotions covered her eyes. Just when she was about to go inside, she sensed a presence fast approaching and much to her surprise; it was her son. "Illumi! You're back!" the matriarch of the Zoldyck exclaimed.

"Yo," a monotonous greeting welcomed her.

"What a surprise, Illumi. You came home early," she said. "I thought you wouldn't come home until the end of the week. Come here, let's talk inside and take a seat." She tried to be considerate to her son as she invited him inside their dwelling.

"My mission was too simple," he answered thriftily.

"Is that so? You don't seem satisfied with that tone of speech," her expression changed. Out of the blue, she thought of something. "Lacroix, Jacques. Remember his name and face," she said while revealing a picture of a person matching the name she uttered. "Since you're vacant… If you would like, you can hunt him down. It's one of the new assassination contracts we received yesterday."

"Fine," he said whilst turning his back to leave the entrance of his home without even acknowledging the invitation of his very own mother to sit down with her.

"By the way, our client said that your current target is in York Shin City and he'll be staying there for several days," added his mom. "You should have no difficulties in finding your prey."

Right after hearing those words, he left without saying anything to his mother.

_York Shin City? What kind of morbid pleasure awaits me there?_

Filling up his thoughts with blood-splattered notions, he started to get excited about the killing he has to make. And once again, he journeyed away from his home, traveling in the decadence of the night.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I want to thank _Razorblade Mistress_ for giving the very first review of this fanfic! Also, to _Misstique13_ and _Curl_. I wish to express gratitude to all the people who appreciate this story. Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the next chapters as well. Stay tuned for the updates!


	6. Amaranth's Mission

**PHASE 4:** Amaranth's Mission

* * *

_Attention! Ladies & gentlemen, now we're approaching York Shin City where the local time is 1:21 PM. We are now preparing to land at Ringon Airport. __Please turn off all electronic devices until we are safely parked at the gate._ At this stage you should be in your seat with your seatbelt firmly fastened. Please ensure that all of your belongings are attended, the airline is not to be held liable for any loss. _On behalf of the company and the entire crew, we would like to thank you for joining us on this trip and we are looking forward to seeing you on board again in the near future._

The most awaited announcement finally came in.

1:21 PM – She looked at her pocket watch to assure the time. "I guess we arrived earlier than expected, that co-pilot did his job well," Amaranth said, gathering all of her things in preparation for the arrival. "I wonder how my new client is doing… I hope he doesn't forget anything amongst the things he said earlier," she mumbled to herself.

After a few more minutes, the airship's doors slowly opened, letting in the sunlight within the gap. One by one, the passengers started to leave the ride and so did the silver-haired maiden. She made her way to the arrival area along with the other travelers. Considering that York Shin City is one of the most popular cities in the region, there was a mass of people gathered in the airport, making it very difficult to bust through the thick crowd.

"Shit. I can't see the way through," she cursed. "What if I… No. I don't want to catch attention. Whatever." Believing there was no other way to speed everything up; she used some force to get through the crowd.

"I'm sorry! I deeply sorry," she continued apologizing even though she really intended to push every single person blocking her way. "I didn't mean to do it. Really." Her sarcastic way of speaking leaked out, some stared at her but none tried to confront Amaranth and her cunning customs. Nonetheless, thanks to her assertiveness, she finally arrived at the designated area for the meet-up with Nostrade.

She quietly chuckled afterwards.

_It's always faster when I do things my way. Hehe._

Right near the entrance, there stood her client. He was talking to another person who was wearing a suit and tie; based from his appearance, he looked like a person with high status as well. Thinking that it will be disrespectful, she bothered not to approach her current employer until she's done dealing with the other person at the moment. After a few exchange of words, the man talking to Nostrade already went on his own separate way. Seeing him leave, Amaranth approached her new boss.

"Errr… Sir, excuse me…" she cleared her throat. "I ummm…" The lady wasn't used to formalities; her tongue felt like it was being twisted every time she tried to speak, she paused her speech once in a while to gather up the words she needed.

Nostrade looked at her in a way as if he was criticizing her from head to toe, "Amaranth, right?" Let's talk later. I wish not to talk in public about our matters."

"Oh, as you wish. I'm sorry," she apologized.

Moments later, a black luxurious car approached and then parked in front of them. The vehicle's glossy paint reflected brightness as the daylight hit its surface. A man came out from the car and opened the door next to the driver's seat, gesturing his hands into an inviting stance.

_Woah! This old geezer is really big time._

Nostrade immediately occupied his seat. "This woman here is with me, please take care of her and her belongings," he said before closing the doors.

"Yes sir," his associate responded. "Mademoiselle, please get inside and feel comfortably seated." He opened the backseat's door for her, providing the best etiquette he could for the young lady.

"T-Thank you," she awkwardly responded and carefully went to her seat, keeping track of her poise as a woman.

_All these formalities are making me feel very sick._

She shrugged, trying to act normal despite the annoyance she's experiencing. While being seated, she wandered her eyes inside the car, inspecting every corner and details to escape the indifferent atmosphere. A little later, the man boarded the driver's seat after stocking up all the things at the trunk of the car. He started the engine and ventured to their destination.

A few more minutes passed, she was already getting irritated with the unfriendly ambiance for everything was too conventional. She tried to behave herself but her body cannot bear it any longer, so she thought of doing something to entertain herself.

_Maybe talking to my boss will calm me down for a while._

Amaranth was already getting nosy about her current business with Nostrade and not being able to hold her curiosity back, she broke the ice. "Pardon me for my eagerness but will you mind if I ask you a few questions?" she requested while hoping not to get declined for the second time.

"Yes. You have the right to know. After all, discussing it here in private will be safe," his employer responded with a calm voice.

"First of all… Why are you in York Shin?" Her question came straight to the point.

Her boss answered without looking back, "I have come here to take care of some urgent business."

_Urgent business? Hmmm… With that tone of speech, it seems that he doesn't really want to specify it to me right now._

Another interrogation came in right away after he answered, "And… That guy who attacked you earlier, who was he? How was he related to you?"

"I have no idea but probably he's one of the persons who loathe my success," Nostrade said with confidence. "In fact, that wasn't the first time such things happened to me."

"Hmmm… If you already anticipated such threats against your life to happen, why did you take the airship for average class citizens?" She wondered, "Since you're a rich, I presume you already own one yourself, right?"

"That's true but I thought it was safer to mix myself up with normal people. I already received a threat about travelling in my private ride, a couple of times the engines already malfunctioned."

"Well, haters gonna hate," she said, crossing her legs and spreading her arms in a way which ruined her gracefulness as a well-clad lady. "Anyway… What will be my first mission?"

There was a short period of silence before Nostrade spoke, giving her the impression that he still doesn't have enough confidence in her skills regardless of all the trouble she went through in the airship. "Well… I want you to escort a man named Jacques Lacroix. I'll just reveal further details later on when we arrive."

"Understood."

No more words followed up right after she approved. Somehow, it signaled the end of their conversation. The silver-haired maiden wanted to release an exasperated sigh in disappointment but remembering the standards for being a presentable bodyguard, she obliged herself not to. After all, she didn't really want to lose this opportunity of getting a job.

_Fuck formalities. _Cursing in her head was the only thing she could do at the moment.

* * *

She roused up with herself leaning next to the window's panel. Wavering her head a few times, she wondered half-consciously, "Are we there yet?"

"Just a few more minutes," their driver gave an answer as he rotated the steering wheel to the east.

Realizing that she had fallen asleep for some time, she tried to sit properly in order to regain her composure. She checked the view beyond the tinted window and the current scenery was abundant of streetlights and people, tall buildings emerged in every corner of the city; a sign of a rich, bountiful metropolitan. The landscape she's staring at suddenly got blurred as their vehicle turned right into a sharp curve. Subsequently, the car stopped before the grand entrance of a high-rise establishment.

The driver parked the vehicle and went outside to open the doors for both Nostrade and his new bodyguard. A soaring sky skyscraper stood still in front of them. The transparent windows of the building exposed a glimpse of the hotel's lavish interior.

_A hotel? I thought we were going to stay in some sort of mansion._

"After you mademoiselle," a voice suddenly interrupted her fixed stare, Nostrade's assistant guided Amaranth into the way inside.

She rolled her eyes, articulating thoughts in her head. _Not this again. I can go by myself, you know?_ Opposing to what she was actually thinking, she smiled awkwardly and gave him an obstinate "Thank you." before she went on her way.

As soon as they passed through the entrance, her first gaze landed on the splendid decorations of the hotel. The chandeliers were of top quality, shining like stars inside the establishment. A beautiful instrumental music played in the background, giving off a relaxing sensation to the mind and body. Everything inside was made with graceful elegance, those that were designed for high-class citizens. After beholding the magnificence of the hotel, all of them headed to an elevator going up to the 4th floor of the building.

As soon as the elevator reached the designated floor, Nostrade spoke to her. "I have reserved 3 rooms in this hotel. You can stay at room 405 but if you are already raring to know your mission, head to the room before yours. Once inside, you'll meet the person who will give you all the essential points you have to accomplish," he said while unlocking the door to his own room. "In case there's an emergency, I'll be here in my room." She nodded to her boss and moved to the next room.

"The room before my room? Obviously that's going to be room 404. Ah, here it is." She slowly rotated the cold doorknob and pushed it with little strength, peeking inside before entering.

"Good afternoon, take a seat." A man with tattoos under both of his eyes welcomed her in a composed manner. "My name is Dalzollene and I'm your superior. Listen carefully to my instructions and don't miss anything I say."

_Dalztsdacdesdwx, what?! _The letters of his peculiar name got distorted in her head. "Nice to meet you mister Dalz… Whatever. My name is Cookies," she jokingly said to his leader while slowly proceeding to sit on the comfy sofa. "Mind telling me your name again? I didn't catch it."

"I have no time for idiocy, lady," he replied with a stern face.

"Yeah right, business comes first." She stroked her hair and took a deep breath before speaking. "I was told by Mr. Nostrade about something concerning a person named Jacques Lacroix. I presume you hold the details that I have to know regarding this mission of mine."

"You got that right." He took out a photograph from an envelope and placed it atop of the center table. "This is Jacques Lacroix, the person you need to escort." The man in the photo had a rounded face with high and wide cheek bones. His thick eyebrows furrowed on top of his button nose, almost meeting each other. Surprisingly, he had a small, narrow mouth which didn't really match well with his other facial features.

_He looks a bit... Unnatural. _She silently laughed in her head while staring at the photo, but still being careful not to leak out her mischievousness in such important occasions. He looked at his superior while trying hard to keep a straight face.

"In most cases, you aren't really supposed to go alone but all the other bodyguards of our boss have their own matters to take care of at the moment." He looked directly at her face, as if intimidating her.  
"So… Will you be fine to do it all by yourself? You can back out anytime, just say it."

"Back out? I'm sorry but that's not included in my vocabulary," Amaranth said, smirking.

"In that case… You'll meet him at this area tomorrow," Dalzollene verbalized while revealing a map and encircling the place he specified. "7:00 PM, sharp," he said, handing over the map to her. "The matters you're going to handle are crucial; the life of Sir Lacroix depends on you." His words felt like tons of bricks. "Don't take everything lightly and most of all… Don't screw up."

"Yes. I'll take care of everything."

"Well that's all you need to know." Dalzollene smiled in an insulting way, "You can go to your room now, little girl."

_Little girl?! I'll take that as an affront._

She rose up from being seated and headed towards the exit of the room. "I just want to tell you… Your name sounds very funny," she hurriedly shut the door, trying to escape with her childish mockery. "People nowadays, what's with their humor? It looks like it vanished together with the dinosaurs." She continued walking into the hallway to get into her room and start the preparations she needed for her first mission.

Her playful face faded away and was replaced by a sinister aura which came pouring out of her. "Well enough jokes, time to get serious about this. I can't wait to get my hands dyed red." She then went inside her room and locked the door to avoid being disturbed.

* * *

The door creaked open as Nostrade entered the briefing room, where the head of his bodyguards still sat alone on the sofa. "Dalzollene, what do you make of _her_?" he asked.

"Well... I can say that she has confidence in her abilities but that doesn't quite put me into trusting her."

Realizing that the head of his bodyguards had something more in mind, Nostrade implored further into his plot. "What are you planning to do?"

"I've decided to put on a little challenge for her because I honestly doubt her skills. In general, she will act as a bait to confuse those who are after Lacroix. Moreover, her first task will be like an exam; if she dies on that mission, then she's not worthy to become one of your bodyguards." He clasped his hands together and gave a serious look on his face.

"But... That kind of act might be risky for Lacroix himself, he might get caught up in the mess," the boss said.

"As for Sir Lacroix… I have already prepared a back-up plan with regards to this. Preparations are now settled. Since his safety is the top priority, I'll be the one to secure his protection without her knowledge. The only thing left to do is to inform Lacroix himself about the sudden change of plans." He gazed upon Nostrade, seeking for approval, "What do you think boss?"

"Alright. I get your point and I guess it wouldn't hurt that much if we put her abilities into a test first."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I just want to give a background about the reason behind my OC's name. For a short definition, _Amaranth_ originally refers to a flower that never fades and it may also mean eternal. I choose this to be her name because it somehow contradicts the title of my fanfic: "Welcome To Oblivion" which technically refers to a state of being completely forgotten.

And for all those reading this story, thanks for the continuous support.


	7. Crossroads

**PHASE 5: Crossroads**

* * *

Amaranth woke up as soon as the harsh sunlight tapped her alabaster skin but she tried to close her eyes once more to avail additional sleep. Lying on her side, she saw the blurry wall clock display the current time. _Oops! I think I overslept..._ Realizing that, she hurriedly rubbed off sleep from her eyes and placed her weight on her feet to stand up. It was already past 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon, six more hours before her scheduled meet-up with Lacroix. Since there was still a long period of time before escorting him, she decided to relax a little more by taking a shower.

As soon as the freezing water fondled her supple skin, hostility of her past embraced her with thorns. She let herself get lost in thought while soaking in bitter nostalgia. Her remaining memories kept on repeating itself like a tormenting cycle that never ends.

_Who was that boy? When will I meet him again? _

Those two questions invaded her mind as images of the past haunted her. Remembering everything back then made her feel that she was being stung by Death himself. But one question came in for her sensual gratifications: _How should I make him suffer?_

As soon as the clock's hands approached the scheduled meet-up, she immediately concentrated her thoughts regarding her task. Formulating ideas on what to do for Lacroix's safety is one thing she decided to accomplish in the first place but her idleness prohibited her from doing so. "Meh… I am too lazy to plan the things I have to do. I'll just do whatever I want later," Amaranth whispered to herself.

"Good evening, you ready?" Dalzollene stood outside her room. He was clearly about to knock on the door but she came out first before he could.

"I always am," she said confidently while walking past him.

Her superior gave her the permission to go. "Good luck on your first mission and make sure you'll come back alive here."

"Thanks," she uttered while walking down the stairs, not looking back at Dalzollene. "But I wonder what's good about this evening?" She mumbled to herself. _Tonight's a suitable evening for killing._

Outside the hotel, the luxurious car from yesterday was parked under the moonlight.

"I'll take you to the destination," Nostrade's driver said.

"No way, I can go there on my own and I can take care of myself."

His face slumped in displeasure. "But… Boss might get angry at me," he tried to explain his part.

"Do you want to die?" the silver-haired maiden asked harshly. As for the man, he froze as soon as his brain picked up her question. "Well, I'll take that as a no. I don't like being bothered when I'm working. Goodbye." Amaranth proceeded in her way without glancing back. She kicked off the ground to pick up elevation; her body vanished like a shadow consumed by darkness in the midst of the tall buildings of York Shin City.

* * *

"Is this really the place?! Or is this some kind of sick joke?!" Ahead of her was another tall building but unlike the other skyscrapers of York Shin City, it seemed to be abandoned due to its current state. It stood in the middle of civilization yet, it was completely outdated by modernization. Rubble of failed construction reclined along the ragged path leading to the entrance, eerie silence welcomed her arrival.

Amaranth started to get curious about her situation, why would she be lead in such place? She checked the map that Dalzollene gave her last night; she pointed at the location of the hotel on the wrinkled piece of paper and dragged her finger across the path she went through and leading to the meeting place with Lacroix. Everything appears to be correct, she's not lost but something was misleading her.

_I can feel something's wrong…_

"Are mafia businesses always like this? Too private…" She pondered for a moment and thought of Dalzollene's orders. "Bah… I'm doing perfectly fine! I followed his instructions without a hitch. If this is the wrong place, then I'll have him to blame."

She carried on exploring the interior of the building. Once she got inside, thick sheets of cobwebs brushed her silver hair. There was nothing worth looking at on the first floor so she decided to advance to another level. The moment her first stepped reached the second floor; she detected hostile movements within the vicinity.

_Some 'unfriendly' people are already here…What's this? An ambush?_

The floor plan of the second level was quite easy to memorize. In the front of her was a narrow hall which she speculated as an area quite inappropriate for fighting due to its limited space but it was still satisfactory, a staircase leading to the next floor was also visible on the farthest corner of the empty hall. There were two pathways to the east and west which served as the spots for several rooms and at the end of each hallway; enormous but splintered windows were set, letting the wind and the moonlight enter the current floor. Still, rough stones were scattered all over the place as the result of minimal wreckage and desertion.

"Hey guys! I suggest all of you to come out now, it would be best to take me on all at once." She tried provoking the unknown entities but all she got was peace and quiet in return. Giving them another chance to answer, Amaranth waited for a few more seconds yet, there was still no response. "Silent type, huh? Well… That's annoying," she muffled under her breath, irritated. Deciding to break the skulking silence, she screamed to the top of her lungs, "So you want to play hide and seek with me, eh? Watch your backs! I'm coming for all of you."

_Two on my flank. Another two on the next floor. One hiding beneath the stairs. Who amongst them should I play with first?_

She already spotted her victims; all she had to do was to choose the one who would get the initial bloodbath. But before she could even pick, a knife wielding-hand rapidly swayed towards her torso.

"You're fast… But not fast enough!" Amaranth uttered, knocking off her attacker's weapon. She immediately grasped her aggressor's wrist and twisted it until she heard splintering sounds. In order to stun him for a while, she arched her legs and gave his attacker a heavy kick on the gut. She gave another succession of fatal attacks without a warning; low, middle and high reverse roundhouse kicks soon followed. Her last strike hit the man's chin and due to the severe force, the attack broke his neck, rendering him dead. "Now that's what I call fast," she said for the finishing.

"I told you earlier, you should've attacked me all at once. Not one by one!" she howled.

Taunted by her screams, another two intruders emerged from the darkness to deal with her. "You're going to die lady," the man hiding beneath the stairs told her. "Don't expect us to show mercy just because you're a woman," the other said while withdrawing a knife. Both of them hurriedly drove their bodies towards her direction, aiming their blades ferociously.

"Only two?! How… unexciting," she yawned.

Before the sharp edges hit her, she evaded the commencement of hostilities by performing a cartwheel. Amaranth stopped midair and focused her strength in her hands and used it to stand on the ground. Seeing herself getting cornered by close-combat attackers, she extended her legs and propelled her body in a circular motion similar to that of a helicopter. "Eat this!" she exclaimed while her boots hit the faces of her attackers, knocking them on the floor. After that, she finally stood on her feet.

One of them immediately gained his momentum back, he thrust his knife to stab Amaranth's legs but his assault was counter-attacked with another kick, sending the knife flying in the air. Irritated, she drove the slender heels of her boots to one of his attacker's eyes sockets, making the man screech in anguish while he cried blood. "Do you like that?" she inquired whilst catching the knife before it fell on the ground. She then threw the knife at the man's face, hitting him directly in the forehead. "Bull's-eye!"

"Oh you're still alive," she referred to the other guy who was struggling in physical torment from being hit by her boots. "Can you stand up or do you want me to help you…?" The silver-haired maiden stared and stepped on his throat to choke him. His prey tried catching his breath as his hands swayed aimlessly. Afterwards, he died of being smothered. "Sorry, I was talking about helping you die to end your suffering right away."

Amaranth took the knife stabbed on the forehead of his previous victim. "This will come in handy! Let me borrow it for a while, will you? Hmmm… Silence mean yes," she told her dead victim, laughing ironically as she mocked the dead.

Hearing the loud noises of slaughter, two more thugs finally came in to help their comrades but they were too late. "Three down, two more to go," Amaranth said as her lips stretched into a murderous smile. "So, who's next?" She slightly bowed her head while extending her arms with open palms as if inviting them to their inevitable death.

Suddenly, handgun's bullet sliced into the air and went straight for her. She was able dodged it at the very last moment but her hair got caught in the mess; strands of her long hair which were cut by the bullet fell onto the cold floor. "You'll regret coming here lady!" the gunslinger said.

"What was that?! A free haircut?!" she wailed as more bullets started to come after her.

"You'll pay for that…" Amaranth moved together with the rhythm of the air, building up her speed and evading the bullets by kicking on the walls in a zigzag motion. Once her targets were in her reach, she swung around and gave the nearest one a flying back kick right on his chest then she continued speaking, "…with your life." His poor victim felt several of his ribs crack, his broken bones were pushed deeper inside by the impact, causing them to pierce through his heart and lungs. "One more to go!"

His final target was stunned by the events he witnessed. The coward even surrendered without giving her a decent fight.

"Stop! P-Please stop! Don't kill me!" His eyes widened and he stumbled in fear.

"You crack me up! Do you think I will listen?" She grabbed the man by his collar and gave him a cold stare. "But let me ask you something… Where is Jacques Lacroix?!"

His eyes avoided her stare and no answer came out from his mouth. So she thought of negotiating according to _her ways _to speed things up.

"You are pretty stubborn, aren't you? Let's just have a fair deal." She tried to make her face appear friendly by smiling but she ended up scaring the shit out of the guy, making the hair at the back of his neck prick in fear. "If you don't answer, you die. If you move an inch, you die. If you try to escape, you die. If you piss me off, you die. If you speak about nonsense, you die. See? Isn't it easy to understand?" she winked at him. "I'm even generous enough to give you a lot of reasons for your death. So hurry up before I start to get impatient."

Her words, cold-like ice, seemed to cut deep into his very soul. Hearing such consequences, the man's heart raced like the thrumming wings of a caged bird. He started to speak, thinking that it would be the key in saving his pitiful life.

"That m-man, Lacroix… W-We were ordered to track him d-down and kill him. An order was r-released to us last w-week but we really had no leads about his whereabouts…" he paused to catch his breath and continued soon after. "But f-fortunately, some information l-leaked out of nowhere last night, indicating that L-Lacroix will be meeting up w-with his e-escort in this building."

"Is that so…? Thank you, I have heard enough from you," Amaranth said dryly in suspicion.

_Could it be that 'they' leaked that information on purpose and plotted against me?_

Her death-like eyes which were devoid of emotions pierced the man once more. "I swear! I-I know nothing more," he continued stuttering in horror. "I cannot say anything more for that is what I only know. Please don't kill me. D-Don't kill me!" he pleaded endlessly.

"Shut up."

"Have mercy on me! I was j-just ordered to do this! I r-really have no inten–"

Two of her fingers slit into his mouth in a blink of an eye, causing his plea to be void of being understood. "I already told you to shut up. You annoy me." The man muffled his incomprehensible words while burbling blood. "The cat got your tongue," she spoke while showing a soft, red pulp in between her fingers.

He was stricken into silence while staring at his own flesh. Terror pervaded his senses when he realized that he had lost his tongue.

"You know? I do hate it when someone talks more than I do, especially when they're guys." Amaranth stabbed the guy on his mouth and continued slicing up to his ears. Blood immediately flowed from the cut and now, his victim was good as dead. "Worthless scumbags."

"What a waste of time… A person named Lacroix isn't even here. What could be the reason?" She thought for a while until an idea entered her head. _Wait… I think I get it now… They used me as some sort of decoy. There's really something fishy going on here… Or more like, they're doing this because they don't trust me at all._

"I'll just go back and ask Dalzollene about this _unfortunate_ incident," she walked away from the corpses, cracking her knuckles.

A sudden gust of wind from the broken windows came inside; she felt the cold breeze slap her skin but instead of making her feel mere coldness, she felt pain. It was then when she apprehended that three golden needles penetrated her shoulders.

_Shit. What's this? When did…?_

She realized that there was another unpleasant visitor in the building but unlike the others, this one was different. All of a sudden, an anonymous figure emerged from one of the windows, cutting in her thoughts. Amaranth noticed several needles in between the fingers of the unknown. Whoever that person is, she was now certain, it was her new enemy.

She retracted her body and concentrated on her defense. Amaranth knew that her current adversary isn't someone to be taken lightly. While glaring at her approaching enemy, an aggravated question came out of her lips…

"Who are you?!"

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I don't want to miss giving thanks to _Razorblade Mistress _once again, I really appreciate everything and I'm glad you like how the OC in this story behaves. I, myself, know that I'll be very grateful to you in the future. ^^ Moreover… I also wish to express thy gratitude to _Chibi-Vi_, a friend of mine on DA, for correcting thy mistakes on the previous chapters and to _Nispedana_ for giving me a review (the one on my so-called "chapter 1"). Hehehe! xD

By the way, I might be releasing updates for this story slower since I am going to be busy with college life again. I might also spend a little less time here on FF due to the same reason...


	8. Déjà Vu

**PHASE 6: Déjà Vu**

* * *

Nostrade sat on the comfy sofa of the luxurious hotel room, patiently waiting for someone as he stared at the timepiece hanging on the wall. As the clock continued ticking, he heard several footsteps outside and soon after, he saw the doorknob rotated in a slow manner. The door gave no creaking sound when it opened; Amaranth's boss gestured and stood up as soon as his eyes landed its gaze on his expected guest.

"Ah, please let yourself feel at home Sir Lacroix," Nostrade requested.

"We're very sorry if there was a sudden change of plans for this meeting. Please do understand that we only value your safety for this reason," the man with tattoos beneath his eyes added while accompanying their visitor inside, together with two more unnamed bodyguards of Lacroix. "Please take a seat."

Lacroix shook his head, "It's alright. I appreciate your sincere effort." He then proceeded to acknowledge Dalzollene's invitation to sit down.

The bodyguards stood behind their clients, making sure that their bosses will be free from harm as every second passed. As for the persons they're guarding, Nostrade and Lacroix, the two sat in opposite spaces, facing each other. As soon as their eyes met, they're conceptuality seemed to have reached the same goal in mind.

"So… Shall we start the negotiations now?"

* * *

_Meanwhile…_

The wind of the night was blowing cold and stiff beyond the walls of every skyscraper in York Shin City, suitable for the clash between two souls at odd.

Amaranth repeated her question once more but this time, she spat out the words more forcibly, "Who the hell are you?!"

There was no reply.

The splintered window of the building merely functioned as the portal for letting in the moonlight and humid air to pass but this night; it served as the entrance of Amaranth's new opponent. She stared at the shiny shards of the window's glass being crushed into smaller bits by the steps of her approaching enemy. The man cast a peculiar shadow which rested on the moonlit ground, his features barely made visible by the serendipity of the hours of darkness.

"Well, that was quite an entrance. Shouldn't you be introducing yourself first or something?" she asked in a sardonic manner whilst waving her hands at him impertinently.

There was no reply. Again.

Amaranth looked at him intently, ranking his abilities with her gaze. He was like an expressionless doll; his thoughts seemed to be burrowed deep enough for it was impossible to tell what he was thinking at the very moment. Jet black hair lay down until his waist, almost the same length as her silver locks. But what caught her attention the most were his eyes which seemed like a bottomless pit of unimaginable gloominess – the trademark of Illumi Zoldyck. Nevertheless, Amaranth still remained clueless about his real name at the present time but she was sure to say that the person in front of her is capable of giving off an awfully wonderful fight.

Receiving no favorable answers, she obliged herself to do the talking again. "Silent type, huh? I like that," she sarcastically said while removing the needles from her shoulders. "I'll ask you again, who are you mister long hair? Answer me or else I'll keep calling you such names."

Still, no reply followed.

"What's your problem? Too scared to speak? Are you deaf, mute or something?" She gave him an idiotic smile despite knowing the danger at hand. "Well if that's the case... You're lucky because sometimes, I can be a little generous to the handicapped. So tell me now, who are you, really?"

Illumi swatted several needles towards her as part of his first answer. "You don't have the right to know," he finally furnished a response in a bleak tone.

"At last, someone who will give me a wholesome fight showed up," Amaranth said while gracefully evading Illumi's attack as if she was dancing with the breeze.

His attack signaled the start of their fight. At the first pace of the fight, Amaranth planned to concentrate more on her defense. Her main purpose for doing so was to study the movements of Illumi. Indeed, she was trying to find a loophole in the manner of his consecutive attacks while not abandoning her concentration to avoid getting pinned by his deadly pricks. All she did to deal with him at the moment was to evade until she sees an opening for launching an attack.

Illumi kept on bombarding his needles at her. While resuming his footsteps, his fingers were following the direction of his target and one after another, he released his needles in such lethal speed. Unfortunately, all of his pins ended up piercing the wall from which she went by but he was successful in driving her into a corner.

"You've got nowhere to run now." His bloodlust poured out at the sight of his restricted enemy.

The silver-haired maiden knew her situation but she still managed to bring about an insult, "So this is how you treat ladies, huh? Locking them up into a small space until they couldn't escape. I'm telling you, this isn't the right way to make a woman happy." She bit her lip in dismay but thought of something to extend their fight.

Abandoning her defensive state, she paced her momentum on the wall and used it to gather enough power to thrust herself in midair, giving her body enough air time to pass above llumi. Amaranth landed back to back with her target, she immediately spun around as soon as she touched the ground and turned her hands into a deadly strike, aiming to hit her opponent's cervical vertebrae. But before she could even hit, Illumi opposed her first attack using his forearm. Surprised by his skills, Amaranth lost her focus for a second.

_What?! He blocked it?! I thought he was just a good-for-nothing throwing machine!  
__I can't believe he's good at close combat too!_  


As their arms clashed, she felt the stiffness of his muscles while speculating that she might get killed sooner if she continues to take the fight in such manner.

Illumi firmly grabbed her by the wrist with no intentions of letting her escape; his grip was enough to make mere humans wince in pain but as for his current enemy, her reaction was a bit surprising than usual. The lady twisted her joints at the base of her captured hand a little to gain hold of his wrist as well. "Let's see who's going to have a broken wrist first," she challenged him.

The expressionless Illumi yanked his wrist and released a kick which landed on the girl's jaw, sending the silver-haired maiden flying to the rubble within the darkness. Dust spread like confetti and distorted their the line of vision due to the impact. Amaranth's body slumped onto the ruins but she was completely conscious, not a single feeling of loss and fear entered her well-being.

"That was pretty good. I wasn't expecting that," Amaranth praised her enemy, wiping off the blood trickling from her lips as she tried to get back on her feet.

She tried to move up from being packed down on the messy floor of the building but before she could even regain her composure in the battle, a razor-like hand cleaved the air in her direction. Together with his surprise attack, Illumi spat out the word she despised to hear.

"Die!"

He expressed the honesty of his savagery by giving her a finishing move.

_Eh?! I can't believe he's too eager to kill!_

The silver-haired maiden was caught up in tension but still managed duck by sitting on her heels, successfully evading Illumi's deadly hand. If she was late for a second, she must've lost her head in the whole process. Inches above her, his hand stuck penetrated on the wall.

_It feels like this already happened before_…

Her body recessed for a while with her hypothesis but at the instant her brain picked up _that _single word which came from _him_, her unpleasant memories flashed in her head like beaming streaks of light.

_DÉJÀ VU…_

One by one… The events from her childhood knocked into her present, bringing about a distressing and heartbreaking embrace to her senses and emotions. Her frosty eyes almost bloated up tears when she recalled her bitter past but she knew well that this isn't the time for drama and crying. Despite the many years which passed after that unfortunate incident, her _wounds_ still doesn't seem to have healed. Not a single bit.

_That aura… It's him! __I'm sure of it. He wreaks the scent of death._  
_There's no doubt. He's the one who murdered my parents!_

Her face hardened as soon as she realized everything – that the man in front of her was her long-gone nemesis. As for Illumi, his face still remained vacant even though he's within the verge of not being able to believe that his target evaded his attack.

"I missed…?" he pondered in disappointment but his voice stayed remarkably calm. "Oh well, you're lucky this time but… That won't happen again." His eyes broadened even more at the sight of his current prey that remained still in her position.

"That won't happen _again_?!" She gave off an insulting laugh whilst clenching her fist in fury. "It already happened... If you know what I'm talking about," she muffled in a low but mocking voice. Amaranth still crouched below Illumi, not moving from her cornered location and not showing any signs or efforts of escaping.

"Are you scared to move?" he inquired in such unconcerned tone of speaking, ignoring her previous statements.

"Idiot. You should be the one scared." For the second time that night, she grabbed Illumi by his wrist. She stood up face to face with him while staring at his expressionless face with her flaming eyes. Amaranth's beautiful appearance started to get stained with pure anger and lament, her lips curled downwards to an evil grimace.

_Could it be? This woman…? _Illumi searched his memories to recognize the girl who seemed to be someone he knew and dealt with before.

"First, that dumb old ugly Lacroix didn't show up here for some _reason _and now, I have to deal with you. All I got lately are bad vibes. I'm really having a bad day and do you know what that means?" Her grip tightened even more, almost breaking some of his bones. "I could really bash the head of the person I'm seeing right now and that's _you_."

"Lacroix?" Illumi paused for a while after hearing the name she uttered. After analyzing the situation, he harshly freed his hand from her control for he finally realized that his _real target_ is not where he's supposed to be. "I don't have time to waste arguing with you." He took several steps backwards, yet still giving a malicious glare to whom he's talking to as if telling her not to make any stupid move to come after him.

"Hey! You stupid moron! I'm not done with you yet!" Amaranth howled furiously, her eyes in rage, trying to catch up with him but was threatened by a set of needles flying towards her. She evaded his pins with precision but it provided Illumi the time he needed to vanish from her sight. "I will make you regret your refusal to cooperate!" She yelled in resentment, making sure that he will hear her sentiments. She tried searching for his trace, knowing that his enemy couldn't have gone that far. But unluckily, Illumi was good at hiding his presence, making himself able to leave without any trouble of letting her track him.

Left all alone in the abandoned building, Amaranth was eaten by her vicious thoughts. She was well-driven by her overflowing anger, she hit the wall with her tightened fist; frustrated for allowing him go that so easily. After all the years she spent, she finally found the person she's looking for. It made her heated and excited at the same time. _Calm down… Calm down… I need to calm down… _She repeatedly told herself, she didn't want to be controlled by her emotions for it might only cause her trouble in advance. Fortunately, her moment sulking in severe ire was ceased when she remembered the reality she has to face beforehand.

"Oh! I almost forgot… I still have to deal with Dalz…" She gave herself a facepalm, heaving a heavy sigh under her breath. Then, the silver-haired maiden remembered Illumi's reaction when he heard the name of the person she's supposed to escort. _Why would he react in that kind of way? It's as if he knows Lacroix._ She thought to herself. After a few seconds of thinking, an idea finally came up.

"Now I think I get it, I guess he's after Lacroix…" she whispered to herself. Still not satisfied with her conclusion, she continued scrutinizing the confusing situation. "If Dalz leaked that information about this dangerous meet-up as I am suspecting, he had probably taken Lacroix to safety already, in order to avoid mixing him up with this mess. And there's also a high possibility that he's with the old geezer now." She clasped her hands in her precise discovery but it made her bathe in anxiety too soon.

_Shit._

"Boss and Dalz… If Lacroix is already with them… They're all in big trouble. Mister long hair is going to look for them. He's one dangerous fellow, I should hurry." She immediately made her way down to exit the forsaken building, her footsteps running heavily. "Besides, I wouldn't like it if Dalz or anyone else gets to deal with _him_. He's mine to finish," she said, chuckling in anticipation but still preventing her anger to take over her actions.

Once again, she trekked the city to carry out her intentions. Her body coalesced with darkness as she released the words in the damp air, "Looks like _the one they don't trust_ will be their salvation. I like this."

* * *

**Author's Note:**

Finally! I had the time to update the story. For all those reading and waiting for this, thank you so much but I'm really sorry that it took a little longer than usual and as for the upcoming chapters, updates will still come slow (or even slower). Please bear with me. Nevertheless... I will try, by all means, to continue the story that I have in mind. For the time being, I do hope you guys are still enjoying this story. Well, that's all I can say for now. Ciao~ ^^


	9. Unexpected Turmoil

**PHASE 7: Unexpected Turmoil**

* * *

"Well, I guess it's all settled now?"

"Yes. Thank you for your time."

"No – Thank you," Nostrade insisted. He offered his hand for the sign approval with their business agreement. In exchange, his visitor shook his hands in compliance, believing everything in good faith.

"I look forward to cooperating with you again in the future," Lacroix said. He looked around the room and gave it a final verdict. "Now that we're done… Pardon me but I…" he cleared his throat. "Sorry for the urgency but I have to leave now. Would you mind if I go on now?"

Nostrade gave him the consideration he needed, "Ah, yes. You ma–"

Suddenly, the inanimate door of the room bulged open with rough force, making it hit the wall as it created a loud, banging sound which perfectly interrupted their formal conversation. Amaranth was actually the culprit; after all the trouble she got in entering the hotel, she concentrated her anger at the poor, innocent door as she kicked it with hatred. To such extent, the shiny doorknob scraped the paint of the wall at the instant it hit the surface. All of the people in the room looked right away at the source of the unexcused rage. The bodyguards, including Dalzollene, sharpened their senses and prepared themselves for a fight; it was what they were expecting with such kind of reckless entrance by _someone_.

Amaranth was relieved._ Looks like they're all fine. I made it in time._

"Sorry! I forgot to knock," Amaranth greeted as she showed herself.

One of Lacroix's bodyguard exclaimed, "What the hell do you think you're doing?! Who on earth are you?" He tripped in nervousness for the sudden attack almost gave him a heart-attack.

Nostrade's eyes widened in surprise as he saw his newly hired bodyguard appear before them in such manner. "It's you…"

"You know her?" Lacroix asked, astonished.

"Yeah, uhh… She was supposed to be the one to escort you but..."

Lacroix was startled once again with Nostrade's honest reply. Then he looked at _her_, formulating judgments right away. "This wild, vulgar woman is one of your bodyguards?!"

Nostrade only gave him an awkward nod in reply.

"Hello," Amaranth said, slowly walking inside the room. "Did you guys miss me?" She was smiling but her seamless expression obviously reeked infuriation which was caused by the events that previously occurred. She focused her blazing eyes on Dalzollene, her sharp stare could've sliced a tomato in half.

"I'll explain!" Dalzollene assured her. He was certain and aware of the reason why she acted in such a way, her look was somehow intimidating him to comply with her untold demands.

"Hah. No need to explain," she said. "I'm not that idiot enough not to realize what you have planned against me. You've really put up a great show, you know? You're actually making me beg for more!" She clapped her hands in mockery.

"Why act in such un-womanly way? Why did you kick the door, are you nuts?" Dalzollene immediately shifted the topic of their conversation. "Have you completely lost your mind and respect for us?"

"Sorry, I got carried away by my emotions. I was so excited to see all of you," she lied. "And I was worried so I came back to check you guys."

He raised an eyebrow together with his intonation, "Really?"

"Well… Enough talk." Advancing her steps further in the room, she gave each one inside a cold glare. "You, I mean all of you… You need to leave this place. Now," she commanded without hesitation.

"Hey, hey… Take it easy Miss. You're not the one in charge. You don't have the reason and authority to do such." The head of Nostrade's bodyguards tried to protect his reputation from being stolen even for a short period of time. "What's with that kind of attitude? Have you forgotten your rank?"

"I may not have the authority but I have a legit reason," she smirked. "Someone will come to assassinate Lacroix and probably all of us will become his victim as well if we don't act right away. That _someone_ is not a teeny-weeny weakling that should be laughed at. Based on our little fight earlier, he can actually kill anyone, even all of you. Get it?" Her statements were frank, straightforward and honest. "Saving our clients' life is the one important, right?"

Despite that kind of speech from her, her superior still seemed to be in doubt. "Really?" Dalzollene released an anxious but doubtful question.

"You still don't trust me, do you?" Amaranth sighed, clucked her tongue and stomped her feet like a child being neglected a birthday present. "I shouldn't have saved his life back then," she whispered to herself but her boss still managed to hear it.

"Watch your words lady," Dalzollene scolded.

"Enough!" their boss finally interfered in their conversation. "Dalzollene, we're going. I believe she's saying the truth. Besides, we'll lose nothing if we listen to her. It's better to be safe than sorry." Despite the commotion, Nostrade still remained calm.

"But bo–"

"She passed your test, correct? I guess it's about time that we trust her." Nostrade finally stated what was important.

"Test? So it was a test after all… Great." Amaranth chuckled, knowing that the situation is now in favor of her. "That's my old man! I knew you'd side by me!"

"Careful with how you address our boss!" Dalzollene scolded once again while Nostrade remained unaffected. The others, including Lacroix, kept staring at the two in their argument.

"Yeah, yeah… Whatever," she said without any signs of compliance. "You and the others should be able to take care of our boss and his beloved guest," Amaranth said and instead of leading them out, she went further into the room.

"But… How about you? Aren't you coming with us too?" her boss asked.

"Nah, I choose to stay here. It won't be long before he finds us here, so hurry up and get going. I'll slow him down. Or better yet, I'll kill him." She tried to smile despite the bitterness she's feeling. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Go on and save yourselves."

"Are you sure about that?" This time, his superior inquired.

"Yes… Please leave. I don't want anyone to get involved in my own mess…"

A long moment of silence engulfed the entire room but in the end, Dalzollene finally understood her will and valued the urgency of their boss' safety. With that, he finally agreed on her behalf. "Try not to get killed, we don't want your skills to be put in vain."

"Sure."

At last, her boss and everyone else left her in solitude. They hurriedly departed the hotel, following her orders for their own safety. As for Amaranth, she sat on the sofa which was facing the windows of the hotel room, spreading her arms as if she was sitting on a majestic throne. The limitless darkness of the night sky was reflected at the window, it reminded her of everything she didn't want to recall.

Indignant minutes passed, the silver-haired maiden was getting impatient about the arrival of her expected guest. She didn't want to think that she might have made a mistake at her speculation. Amaranth tried to reconsider everything she thought of, eager enough to prove the preciseness her own ideas. Her worried judgments faded away, thoughts of despair climbed at the peak of her mind and remained as such until her moment in silence was interrupted by the loud sound of a window being bolted open. Harsh wind entered the room, sending the elegant curtains flustering aimlessly.

_He finally arrived._

Instead of letting out her anger, she just shrugged it off for the mean time by saying something irrelevant to the continuation of their fight. "You really like entering via the windows, don't you?"

He gave her a piercing glare. No reply. No sign of any emotions. No intentions of wasting his time.

Knowing that he won't be speaking, she burdened the job of doing the talking again. "Where have you been? I was starting to miss you already." Amaranth gave off a disgusted smile after she spat out the words of her sarcasm.

"I don't have time for your stupidity. Where is _he_?" he asked in a strict tone.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I won't say anything at all. And you won't be leaving this room alive."

Illumi didn't show any signs of being scared by her threat. "You think you can stop me?"

"Of course," she boasted with confidence.

Illumi was absorbed by her willpower. "I guess I have no other choice," he said, hoping to finish everything right away. But somehow, he felt that something really important was at hand. He paused for a while and looked around the room, trying to find the traces of his _real_ target but obviously realizing that Lacroix has already been put to safety. So… He thought of entertaining himself with a fight before doing his own business, besides he hasn't had any satisfying one lately. Now, his gaze was fixed at the only woman inside the room with him. But before he could even make the first move, Amaranth stunned him with her words.

"Admit it." The stern look on her face grew even worse.

He continued staring at her, intrigued. "Admit what?"

"Don't try acting like you know nothing. You were the one who killed _them_? Aren't you?"

_So it's her. _In spite of the fact that he already killed countless people,Illumi finally remembered the _incident_ back then, as well as the woman in front of him. Despite that, he kept on bombarding her with vexing replies. "Them? Whoever they may be… What if I say I didn't kill them?" Illumi challenged.

Hearing those words, the expression of her face hardened even more. "Don't lie, you bastard!"

"What if I say I am not lying?"

Amaranth knew that it was difficult to tell whether he was telling the truth or not for his face remained the same as the first time she met him. She was sure of her accusation. He was somehow trying to mislead and provoke her, she thought to herself. After all, her instincts kept on telling her that what she always believed was correct, the circumstances she went through served as her directions in life after the incident. And all of those made her the person she is now. _I can't be fooled._

"Let me tell you this…" Illumi focused her eyes on her while he slowly said the words she wasn't going to believe. "I didn't kill anyone that night."

"You…!" Her eyes showed a severe sign of enragement, "I'll split your lying tongue!"

"Isn't it bad to accuse someone of a crime without any evidence?"

"Shut up! That night you were–"

"I told you already," he insisted without changing his expression. "I didn't kill anyone that night."

"You're a big liar! Don't joke around with me! I'll kill you here and now."

"Did you see me kill them? I bet you didn't, correct?" Both of them exchanged cold glances. "Since you can't find the truth... You just picked the lie you like best and lived with it, am I right?"

His words provoked her into a rage of negative emotions; red, hot words came out of her lips. "How dare you say something like that to me when you know _nothing_ about my life and what I've been through?!" She suddenly changed her body construction, attempting to assault him without any more restrictions. "Enough of your bullshit!" cried Amaranth. Blinded by her own anger, she used her strength to aim straight and give his enemy a fatal blow. But much to her surprise, Illumi simply caught her hands without any trouble. Her pupils dilated in shock as she felt his unimaginable strength with his vice grip.

_W-What the…?!_

"Foolish girl." His other hand sunk deep into her stomach, causing her to puke blood. "Hold still lady. I still can't kill you even though I want to. There are still a lot of things I have to take care of before dealing with you."

Her body screamed in agony for she didn't expect to receive an attack like that. She blamed herself for letting her emotions take control of her actions during the battle, she should have been more careful and more patient but it was too late for regrets.

Despite the pain she's experiencing, she still managed to say a word to him.

"Liar…"

Her vision blurred and her body slumped into the ground as she fell into a dead faint.

Illumi stared at her unconscious body for seconds, as if he was suspecting the girl for someone he knew well. Suddenly, he took out his phone in assurance and pressed a couple of numbers then spoke in a bleak tone, "Father, I suspect that I've found the woman you've been looking for. I'm waiting for confirmation." He paused his speech thereof in respect to hear the response of whom he's stalking to.

A lot of explanation came from the other line before Illumi adhered, "Understood."

* * *

**Author's Note**

Thank you for all those who patiently waited for the update. I assume you guys are getting confused with the issue in this chapter but I assure you that I will slowly clarify and unveil everything you need to know in the next chapters. That's all for now, stay tuned! ^^


	10. Zoldyck Matters

**Phase 8: Zoldyck Matters**

* * *

"Excuse me, room service." The soft and calm voice penetrated through the thick door of the hotel room. Anyone on the other side of the room was sure to hear it but during that time, no one came to answer the call. "Excuse me, room service," the nice hotel staff said once more but this time, she offered it together with several knocks on the door.

In spite of her dedicated efforts to be noticed, no reply came from inside the room. She waited a few minutes more and it was when she sighted an engraved mark on the elegant wooden door of the room, she suspected that someone might have pushed or opened the door in an offensive way. _Well, someone did kick it earlier._ But she just shrugged it off and assumed that the current occupant of the room is either sleeping, taking a bath or doesn't want to be bothered.

When she was about to leave, she felt the floor beneath her become a bit slippery and in order to satisfy the demands of her curiosity, she tried to find out the reason why. And that's what she almost regretted doing. Her eyes trailed along the small gap under the door of the room. There, she saw thick, scarlet liquid oozing out and coming from inside. She wasn't sure of what she saw but her heart pounded faster and heavier, she gave it a closer look. Confirmed. It was blood. No doubt about it.

First, the shocked lady panicked internally, not knowing what to say or do in surprise. The sudden fright she experienced might have prevented her from reacting right away after her unbelievable realization. Her breath grew heavier and heavier as each second passed, cold sweat streamed down from her forehead and later on a loud, terrified shriek filled in the air. The horrified lady ran as fast as she could downstairs and perfectly ruined the relaxing tune of the hotel's background music while she revealed the current situation at hand on the 4th floor of the building to the other employees.

Numerous footsteps soon scrammed towards the area of the reported incident. A couple of male hotel employees bulged and opened the room. They were astonished with what their eyes caught as they barged in the room. A reasonable amount of blood spread and clotted on the exquisite carpet of the room. It was more than what they could even imagine and finally, all of them noticed the uncanny scenery within the vicinity.

* * *

_A couple of hours before the incident, during Illumi's search for Lacroix…_

"I will make you regret your refusal to cooperate!"

The furious scream of the lady resonated throughout the eerie ambiance of the night. Illumi heard her words clearly as he carefully increased the distance between both of them. He erased his trace to escape, making sure that he won't be detected as he went on his way to pursue his own interest.

"What an annoying woman," he muffled to himself. "I would have had some fun killing her though."

Once he was out, he ascended himself on top of the abandoned building and waited there for several minutes, inquisitive of what the woman will do after he left. A little later, he saw Amaranth running in a hurry but he, too, detected a foul stench of aura from her.

"Looks like she's about to go out of control," he said, observing.

The expressionless guy started to get curious about the lady. She was somehow different from his previous adversaries. Well, at least, he considered her as one of the leads to find his real target. So, he concluded that she was to be benefited from, in order to finish his current mission and at the same time, satisfy the questions in his head about her.

_Should I follow her, and then kill her? Or should I kill her now?_

He thought to himself for a couple of minutes, but was interrupted by an incoming phone call.

"Yo," he greeted in his signature way of speaking as he placed the mobile device next to his ears. "Is there something wrong?"

"Are you done with your current mission?" A strong, lucid tone replied. "Your mother told me that she gave you something to do just to keep you occupied for the mean time."

Illumi recognized the voice on the other line. It was Silva, his father. "Yes, you are right but I am not yet done with it. There's no need to ask anyone else in our family to help out. I'll be done with it sooner," he said with complete confidence.

"Good," he approved. "In that case, I've got to ask you to do something crucial. This is more of a favor," his father said right after giving praise to him.

The expressionless guy accepted it without complains, "What is it then?"

Silva paused for a couple of seconds before speaking. He doubted himself about asking Illumi whether to do it or not. But in the end, he managed to utter his request to his son, "I need you to go after someone."

_That's too simple. _He concluded at the back of his head."Describe," he firmly said as a sign of acceptance.

"Female. Silver hair. That's all I can say. Even my own client here doesn't really know well how she looks like at the present time."

After hearing the description, he already had an idea of who he's going after. "Alright. No problem."

"Don't fail, Illumi. Consider this a task different from the others you've handled before," Silva uttered with the deepest concern.

"Understood. I will definitely kill her as soon as I see her." He felt his accomplishment right away.

But much to his surprise, his father replied with a bothersome statement, "You're not going to kill her."

"What?" Despite being caught up in surprise, his tone remained at ease.

"You're not going to kill her," his father's words didn't change. "Whoever that is, all you need to do is to go after her, watch her actions. Observe. Nothing more. We need that person alive, well at least, my client does."

"This is against our family business."

"I know, I know…" Silva knew that his eldest son would react this way so he tried his best to convince him. "But this is for our family as well. Trust my words Illumi."

"Hmmm…"

"Can you do it? Can I trust you with this matter?" his father inquired.

"OK. I'll try not to kill that woman," he declared while doubting himself if he could control his bloodlust later on.

"Try not to?" He sure wasn't pleased with the way his son answered.

"Alright, I won't kill her," Illumi finally said, he didn't want to disappoint his father after all.

"I'll remember your words well." Their conversation ended with his father's acknowledgement. Illumi slid the phone back in his pocket and pondered about the weird conception running about.

_This is odd._

He sure was puzzled with the sudden turn of events. Accepting the new task was against his will but he had to comply with his father's request. Illumi looked around, seeking for the silver-haired maiden but unfortunately, she was gone. There and then, he began his quest as he skipped from one building to another, now, looking for his two targets.

* * *

_On the other hand… At the Zoldyck's residence…_

Silva disconnected his call with Illumi, hoping that his son would be true to his words. He placed his mobile device on the table next to him and rested his elbows on the surface while situating his knuckles under his chin.

"So you asked your eldest son to go after my lady?" A man, about the same height and age as the Zoldyck's patriarch, talked while comfortably seated at the guest room of the infamous assassin family, his fingers held tobacco in between. The man dressed himself with a long coat and elegant ruffles puffed out of his collar. His face appeared calm and relaxed despite his thick and high-arching eyebrows. He possessed raven hair which extended down past his shoulders. In addition, he was wearing a monocle on his left eye.

"Yes, it would be best if he's the one who would deal with her," Silva uttered with assertion.

"I thought of the same. Indeed, great minds think alike." The man laughed with poise, maintaining his aristocratic composure. "That's the best way to deal with this matter, I firmly believe that."

"Honestly, our family is only engaged in assassination missions. But as for you, I'd be glad to make an exemption, Mister L'Estrange."

"I am most relieved to hear those words coming from you. But, there's no need of being too formal. I know that we haven't seen each other for a long time already but we've known each other for more than a decade, together, in this kind of business." L'Estrange puffed out smoke and stretched out his lips to form a smile. "You can just address me by my first name."

"As you wish, Abel." Silva let go off of the formalities, he continued talking in a less conventional way which he was more comfortable at. "But are you really sure that woman is still alive?"

"Yes, I certainly am. We never got any news of her death and it makes me more worried. My instincts tell me that she's still out there on her own, freely roaming around in this vast world."

"You never change, visionary as usual. I do hope you're instincts are correct. That woman was always on the loose ever since." He looked straight into the icy blue eyes of Abel. "I don't like wasting our family's precious time and efforts."

"Aye. I know that by heart." He lifted his weight and stood up. "Fare-thee-well, Silva. I still have some personal business to take care of. Inform me about this matter whenever necessary."

"Alright. Farewell," Silva said in return.

The man named Abel L'Estrange bid goodbye as he commanded his feet to venture the path leading out of the Zoldyck's residence.

* * *

_Going back to the present…_

"Hey! Cookies! Are you alright?!"

"Uh… What the… hell…?" She instantly regained her vision and consciousness before he could've slapped her cheeks to wake her up. The surroundings were now different; she wasn't in the same room as before, that, she realized. She saw her superior sitting on the chair next to her bed. "Where am I?"

"You're still in the hotel but this is a different room," Dalzollene explained. "I thought you were going to die."

"Die?! What?!" she asked furiously despite her unstable condition. "What… exactly happened?!"

"Well, you see…"

Her eyebrows furrowed in dismay, "No I don't see anything. At all." She pointlessly answered for she expected that Dalzollene was not going to tell her right away what she wanted to know but now, Amaranth knew that she was somehow relieved from her awful state earlier.

He released a sigh in response to her attitude. "You've been unconscious for an hour."

"Where is he?!" The tone of her voice became more demanding than usual. Her eyes were fixed on her superior as she tried to persuade him to speak up. "Tell me now!"

"All I'm sure about is that you got knocked out by that someone you're talking about," he speculated. "You have lost a reasonable amount of blood but the doctor said you're lucky to have received a shallow wound and you'll be able to recover soon," he said, fixing his eyes on her while saying the truth.

"That's not exactly what I wanted to know."

"Sorry but… That's all I know."

"Haven't you got any leads about _him_?" She saw his superior tilt his head a little, making her realize his uncertainty. Despite that, she insisted to ask. "Tall. Long hair. Scary eyes. Needles and pins. Silent type. Don't any of those ring a bell?"

His face slumped in curiosity, thinking that she just said a bunch of random things. "No idea. I don't even know anything else about _him _other than the fact that you badly want to get your hands on him."

"I see…" she replied hopelessly. "So… What about boss and his… uhh… ugly guest?" She suddenly remembered.

His face gave an expression of reassurance, "They're both fine, there's actually nothing to worry about at the moment. Our boss, as usual, is busy with his own private matters. As for Lacroix, he said that he'll be leaving York Shin in the next couple of days."

"That's good news! Then I won't be doing anything for days, right?"

"Yes. Unless urgency gets in the way but let's hope not. You're not in a good condition to help out." He said, seriously. "Anyway… You can rest here for a given period of time. We won't be suspending you from your job despite what happened. And to top it all, I wish to apologize for not trusting you."

"Hah. Don't worry about it, but I must admit that it made me a little upset," she bit her lip as she said expressed the bitterness she felt before. "Nevertheless… Things like that make my life more exciting, so I have to thank you for that."

"Is that so?" He doesn't seem to understand her way of thinking but he just shrugged it off and continued. "Anyway, as compensation for all the trouble you went through, boss would like to give you an advance payment." A certain amount of cash was handed to her by Dalzollene, making the lady bolt out of the blue in surprise.

"Woah! Wicked sick! This much?! I wasn't asking for any… Yet…"

"Just take it and try to recover sooner." His superior cut her reasoning as he stood up from his seat. "I'll be leaving you now."

"I'll be able to, I am not some sort of a weak moron, you know? And yeah, off you go sir. Have a nice journey outside." Amaranth waved at her superior like a child while Dalzollene approached the door. "Hey, wait!" she cried. "Let me tell you something first, my name is not Cookies. You'd better ask our boss if you want to know my real name," she teased.

"Right." A soft creak created by the door followed after his last words came to her.

"Lucky to have a boss who's kind," she said to herself. As the door stayed open, a timid-looking hotel staff was left standing on the entrance of her new room, waiting to be noticed. "And… Who are you?" she asked.

"I was ordered to–"

"Hey! You've got some food! Come in!" She already knew what was in store for her. Her eyes feasted on the mouthwatering gourmet brought by the hotel employee. "Splendid! Can I have more of that?" The silver-haired lady pointed her slender finger on the soup.

"A nice looking lady with an appetite of a bear," the hotel staff whispered as he entered her room and served her late dinner.

"What did you say?!"

"N-Nothing," the hotel staff wasn't prepared to argue with her. "I-I'm leaving. Enjoy your meal."

"Good, the door is always open for you to leave. I don't like it when someone's watching when I am about to eat." With that, the hotel staff made his way through and shut the door.

Amaranth chuckled at the nervous expression of the hotel staff but right after she was left alone in the room, she suddenly recalled everything that happened earlier. She heaved a disappointed sigh. "He didn't kill me. Why? I don't understand." The new confusion made her lose her desire to fill up her stomach. "Well, back to my reality." She rested her back on the bed while talking to herself, ignoring the food she was given. "Ugh. I don't feel so comfortable in this state. I need to go out and stretch some muscles but this damn injury wouldn't let me move at my best," she groaned. "Oh well…"

Amaranth slowly closed her eyes, letting in darkness as she rested her body and mind.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

I had to insert another OC here (will do the same on the future chapters), pardon me but I have to. Anyway, I'm sorry for the late update (specially to _Razorblade Mistress)_. I apologize for making you guys wait for quite a long time. I couldn't squeeze my schedule and find time to read and write fanfics but I do hope you'll continue enjoying this~ ^^


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